A few weeks back, I read an opinion piece from retired surgeon and former U.S. congressman Greg Ganske. In it, he articulately laid out his argument for the legalization — and moderation — of marijuana.
I don’t condone the use of illegal drugs, and I have been adamantly opposed to smoking marijuana my entire life, but I was intrigued by Ganske’s insight and his intelligent approach to the debate. He feels the market should be regulated on both the state and federal levels so users can be aware of safe dosages and be free of worries of contamination by buying only authorized product. I still don’t agree with him, but I was so impressed by his piece that I asked him if I could publish it in CITYVIEW as a guest view. He agreed, and you can now read it here.
I know people who are convinced that smoking marijuana eases their physical pain in ways that no legal medication can — at least not without very serious side effects. To help those folks, I agree that we should manufacture a pill version and have a doctor prescribe it.
What I don’t understand is how an educated person can condone rolling anything up, lighting it on fire and breathing the fumes into a human body. This makes about as much sense as suggesting someone put his or her mouth on the exhaust of my F-150 while I rev up the engine.
I grew up in a home with parents who smoked cigarettes. In their later years, they both quit, but the damage was done. And, more than likely, the secondhand smoke damaged the lungs of my siblings and me as well. Our nation spent numerous decades — and billions of dollars — telling people about the harm of smoking cigarettes. But pot? Oh, that’s fine, apparently.
I am not going to argue whether marijuana is a gateway drug to more serious problems or not. You can debate that amongst yourselves. My simple point is that we should not promote the inhalation of the smoke of anything that is lit on fire. Except for burn barrels, of course. Those are OK.
Meanwhile, regardless of your opinion on marijuana, keep an open mind — or a foggy one, if you prefer — and check out Ganske’s column.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
